I have been to the site several times, in the past three weeks, wondering exactly where I would like the house placed. As if I were hanging a picture on a wall … no, a little to the left … ummm, down just a little … yes, there, right there…

Well, my foot/ankle injury has forced the end of my Camino. I’m not sure what it is, but it is some kind of overuse injury. And what I know of overuse injuries is that they definitely do not get better by over using them more …

My Camino gangstah walk is back. Gah! I walked the whole way with a limp today….

The day got off to a whimsical start (see the heads of two deer popping up in the wheat field?)…

Turns out it is cherry season. Color me happy….

Last night and today, I met two very interesting pilgrims. Everyone here is doing it their way. Clearly they’re trying to go back in time…

Today was a solo day. All my friends have walked ahead of me. I expected this because I am choosing to walk short distances each day. At this rate if I were to walk the whole pilgrimage, it would take me 60 days and most people want to do it in 35 to 40 days. I actually didn’t expect to meet and walk with as many people as I have so far…

So, today I crested a hill and ahead of me was the town I plan to sleep in tonight. I took out my phone to check my mileage and how much further I had to go. And what occurred to me was how easy it is to become destination oriented on the Camino…

I am realizing/remembering that the Camino isn’t all fun and games. I find that the nights are the hardest. They are a time I wish I could propel myself back to my own bed for the night and get a good nights sleep…

The Camino can be a microcosm of life. We meet new friends, sometimes go deep, then say goodbye, all within a day or two….

“You have to work really hard to get lost on the Camino, honey. You just follow the yellow arrows. They are everywhere.” An answer to my daughter’s worried question a week ago…

The words for today are strength and resilience. I felt today how strong my body has already become after only three days of walking. It’s like it remembers how to do the Camino. This means I have to be extra careful not to overdo…

If I had to sum up these first two days walking in one word, it would be would have to be peace. I keep spontaneously, dropping into a sense of overwhelming peace. The lack of background noise, so prevalent in our world today, is absent most of the time when I am walking. It is replaced with birds, singing their little hearts out, excuse me for the cliché but, babbling brooks, cuckoos in the distance, the heady fragrance of flowers I have no name for, and a sense of all is right with the world…

If there is such a thing as the perfect Camino day, this was it. I met a new friend at breakfast from France, we walked and shared similar interests…

I got a fairly good nights sleep, considering I was in a strange bed, in a strange house.

So, this is my first morning pet sitting in this beautiful house, with sweeping views of the Kona Coast, and I want to get it right. The couple had a family emergency, and I feel good about my role in ensuring that their home and their three sweet kitties will be clean, well-fed and unharmed on their return.

Last day…

A wild ride …

Another family reunion…

Adventuring in search of another castle…

Ireland smells like cow shit more than it doesn’t…